It’s Official: Google Has Acquired Motorola Mobility

Google has made its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility official. Google CEO Larry Page announced the closing of the deal in a company blog post:

The phones in our pockets have become supercomputers that are changing the way we live. It’s now possible to do things we used to think were magic, or only possible on Star Trek–like get directions right from where we are standing; watch a video on YouTube; or take a picture and share the moment instantly with friends.

It’s why I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone. We all remember Motorola’s StarTAC, which at the time seemed tiny and showed the real potential of these devices. And as a company who made a big, early bet on Android, Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google.

Google and Motorola announced the acquisition plans in August of last year, with Google citing Motorola Mobility’s 17,000+ patents as the main impetus for the deal. Of course, Motorola Mobility also makes smartphones and cable boxes, which Google could potentially leverage for its Android and Google TV platforms, respectively.

Larry Page also mentioned in the blog post that Motorola’s “Sanjay Jha, who was responsible for building the company and placing that big bet on Android, has stepped down as CEO.” He will be replaced by “long-time Googler Dennis Woodside,” says Page.